Alert archive / Iowa / Flash Flood Warnings in 1999
Flash Flood Warning 6, NWS Des Moines, IA
NWS Des Moines, IA issued this flash flood warning at May 16, 1999, 10:02 PM CDT for Butler County, Iowa. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 16, 1999, 10:02 PM CDT (03:02 UTC)
- Expired
- May 17, 1999, 1:00 AM CDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Des Moines, IA
- Area
- Whole counties
County Butler County, IA
The radar
The Des Moines radar (KDMX), 135 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 03:02 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Davenport, (KDVN), launched 00:00Z, 3.0 hours before the alert went out and 226 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 3009 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1174 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 33 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 61 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 102 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.7
- Supercell composite
- 5.9
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KDSM 170302 FFWDSM IAC023-170600- BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED FLASH FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 1002 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A * FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... BUTLER COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL IOWA * UNTIL 100 AM CDT * AT 958 PM CDT...AREA LAW ENFORCEMENT INDICATED THAT CLUSTERS OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN WERE LOCATED OVER BUTLER COUNTY...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH. * EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AT THE RATE OF OVER 2 INCHES PER HOUR WILL PRODUCE FLOODING ACROSS BUTLER COUNTY THROUGH AT LEAST 100 AM CDT. SEVERAL GRAVEL ROADS WERE ALREADY WASHED OUT WITH MORE HEAVY RAINS ON THE WAY. DON'T DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS! MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES. SMALL
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Des Moines, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 16, 6:27 PM CDT, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 6:27 PM CDT, 3 hours 35 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 628PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 RAINFALL RATES GETTING OUT OF HAND SO ALTHOUGH ITS A LTL LATE HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ENTIRE CWA OVNGT. MAIN TSTM COMPLEX TWRD MO RVR HAS YET TO REACH FA AND WITH CONVECTION LINING UP INTO KS...SGFNT TRAINING MAY TAKE PLACE. .DSM...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TNGT ENTIRE DMX FA. SMALL
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 16, 7:01 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
IAZ057-058-070-071-170015- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 701 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 ...TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 725 PM FOR CASS AND AUDUBON COUNTIES... AT 7 PM RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING ACROSS MOST OF CASS COUNTY INTO EASTERN AUDUBON COUNTY. LARGE HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS. ALTHOUGH RADAR INDICATES THE ROTATION IN THESE STORMS HAS DECREASED... THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME. JW
Special weather statement, May 16, 7:01 PM CDT, 3 hours 1 minute before
IAZ057-058-070-071-170015- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 701 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 ...TORNADO WARNING UNTIL 725 PM FOR CASS AND AUDUBON COUNTIES... AT 7 PM RADAR INDICATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING ACROSS MOST OF CASS COUNTY INTO EASTERN AUDUBON COUNTY. LARGE HAIL HAS BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS. ALTHOUGH RADAR INDICATES THE ROTATION IN THESE STORMS HAS DECREASED... THESE STORMS MAY PRODUCE A TORNADO AT ANY TIME. JW
Special weather statement, May 16, 9:15 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-170300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 915 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 272 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST IOWA: POCAHANTAS...HUMBOLDT...SAC...CALHOUN... WEBSTER...CRAWFORD...CARROLL AND GREENE. FARTHER TO THE SOUTH AND EAST TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 272 HAS BEEN REPLACED BY TORNADO WATCH 278 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM. TORNADO WATCH 278 INCLUDES THE BIGGER CITIES OF ATLANTIC...CRESTON...AMES...DES MOINES...CLARION... WATERLOO...CHARITON AND OTTUMWA. FARTHER TO THE NORTH OVER THE NORTHERN TWO TIERS OF IOWA COUNTIES... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 276 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM AND INCLUDES ALGONA...ESTHERVILLE AND MASON CITY. PEOPLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCHES SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER ON SHORT NOTICE. FLASH FLOOD WATCHES ALSO REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE VALID SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WATCH AREAS. SMALL
Special weather statement, May 16, 9:15 PM CDT, 47 minutes before
IAZ004>007-015>017-023>028-033>039-044>050-057>062-070>075-081>086- 092>097-170300- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 915 PM CDT SUN MAY 16 1999 TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 272 HAS BEEN CANCELED FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES IN NORTHWEST IOWA: POCAHANTAS...HUMBOLDT...SAC...CALHOUN... WEBSTER...CRAWFORD...CARROLL AND GREENE. FARTHER TO THE SOUTH AND EAST TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 272 HAS BEEN REPLACED BY TORNADO WATCH 278 WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 300 AM. TORNADO WATCH 278 INCLUDES THE BIGGER CITIES OF ATLANTIC...CRESTON...AMES...DES MOINES...CLARION... WATERLOO...CHARITON AND OTTUMWA. FARTHER TO THE NORTH OVER THE NORTHERN TWO TIERS OF IOWA COUNTIES... SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH NUMBER 276 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1100 PM AND INCLUDES ALGONA...ESTHERVILLE AND MASON CITY. PEOPLE IN AND NEAR THE WATCHES SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SEEK SHELTER ON SHORT NOTICE. FLASH FLOOD WATCHES ALSO REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE VALID SEVERE THUNDERSTORM AND TORNADO WATCH AREAS. SMALL
The office that day
Everything else NWS Des Moines, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 7:35 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Black Hawk | 115 min |
| May 16, 7:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Boone, Dallas | 31 min |
| May 16, 7:52 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Dallas, Madison, Polk, Warren | 48 min |
| May 16, 7:54 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Bremer | 3 hr |
| May 16, 8:16 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Cass | 3 hr |
| May 16, 8:17 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Boone, Story | 33 min |
| May 16, 8:36 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DMX | Jasper, Marshall | 49 min |
| May 16, 8:44 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Hamilton, Story | 31 min |
| May 16, 9:00 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DMX | Hardin | 50 min |
| May 16, 9:43 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Black Hawk | 77 min |
| May 17, 8:47 AM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DMX | Black Hawk | 6 hr |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in Iowa, 1999Every flash flood warning in 1999
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.